Overview
- The consultation on closing eight on-call fire stations across the two counties closes at 5pm Friday, May 15, following Thursday’s protest outside Dorset County Hall.
- The fire service says a 19.5% fall in government funding has opened a £1.2 million gap in the 2026/27 budget, with a larger shortfall expected in later years.
- Opponents cite the service’s own data showing slower response times, including a 2 minutes 23 seconds delay to a second engine for Wilton that would miss the 13-minute target in 11 of 13 cases.
- Wiltshire councillors plan a May 19 motion urging the council leader to press ministers for support and argue the service’s £23 million in usable reserves could keep stations open.
- Communities named in the plans include Bradford-on-Avon, Mere, Ramsbury, Wilton, Charmouth, Maiden Newton, Cranborne and Hamworthy, where residents warn rural and older people could face longer waits during fires or road crashes.